There Was a Wind, But No Chime
by Dot Dev
for fans of Open Mike Eagle, MF DOOM, The Mountain Goats, E L U C I D, billy woods
own a copy
listen 12 tracks
about the record
“The rapper is looking to move off of the quickfire online references that punctuated their time as Pink Navel, and instead take a decidedly more autobiographical tilt to their stylings. Odes to vlogging pioneer Ze Frank and the traveling salesman Beedle from Legend of Zelda make way for Dev-centric tales, exploring how bike-riding changed their life on “Places I Rode” and spitting about their thoughts on mortality through allegorical references to “the hyperlink that kills you” on a track of the same name.”
After a five-year recording hiatus, rapper and producer Dot Dev returns with There Was A Wind, But No Chime. With introspective lyricism, lo-fi minimalism, and folk-tinged warmth, the album captures their path toward self-discovery. The first single, “There Was A Wind,” reflects on reinvention and lucid dreaming as a conduit to their late father.
“This album feels like the first time I’ve told my story without hiding behind pop culture or irony,” says Dot Dev.
Known for their multi-genred approach, Dot Dev draws from Judee Sill and John Darnielle as much as MF DOOM and Open Mike Eagle. Their 2023 collaboration with Kenny Segal, How to Capture Playful, earned a 7.6 from Pitchfork for its “complex writing and dexterous command of rhythm,” while a standout live set at PAX East 2024 cemented their reputation as a witty, versatile performer.
The new record distills years of personal reflection and industry turbulence into poetic vignettes, with assists from Stale Brick and DJ Medamaude. Tracks such as “Caricatures on the Pier” and “Professor Latent” weave memoir with metaphor, forming an album that lingers like a reverie, both a reckoning and a rebirth. As they put it: "I did dare to dream of a life as a rough and tumble touring rapper, and while I got it, what it led me to afterwards was much more valuable."
credits
All produced by Dot Dev, except "Professor Latent" by DJ Medamaude and "Places I Rode" by Stale Brick.
Mixed by Dot Dev.
Mastered by lilith.
